Lots of (sideways) progress for January!

   January is one for the history books! Did we keep our sewing resolutions? Did we get a lot done? I'm happy to say I did, even though progress might not have been in a straight line!

    We lost power for 24 hours this weekend, so that was a bit of a glitch, but we're back up and ready for February. We got about 20 inches, and I'm still not tempted to leave the house. We do have a generator that can support half of the house. Clearly I wasn't around when the decisions were being made about which half-- sewing room, no, TV, yes? Who does that?

   The Birth Month Mug Rugs of the Month have had a successful launch-- thank you to all who subscribed. It's going to be a great year. I keep thinking of more projects for this series. The snow makes a great back drop!

    Our tour of the Eastern Seaboard is just about done-- that makes only ten states left to go in the Carefree Highways series. I'm working on South Carolina today.

     Stitches of the Sea is one doodad away from being a finishing kit. I just think that small space needs a snail shell--do you see it? My big embroidery machine is back from its cleaning and I'm ready to catch up my own blocks and finish this beautiful piece in time for summer!

   On the hobby side of my sewing passion, Winterville has really progressed this month. I had so hoped to finish and photograph it in the snow, but we are currently a bit sideways!

    I broke my promise to keep "A Ribbon Runs Through It" sealed until Winterville was done. I really had to know if I could make one of these intricate block... and five hours later, here is my first one!

   Not my taste in fabric in the slightest, but goodness, this is a gorgeous block! If I can do one a week for sixteen weeks, I'd be keeping up. The designer kept referring to "little tipsys" in the instructions. I didn't understand-- was I supposed to have a glass of wine with it? I finally figured out, she means a TIP. So hope that helps all of you who are likewise as dense as I am, and don't let that knowledge prevent you from pouring a glass.

   So that kept me from Winterville, but I am still very pleased with progress-- I now have to send the drone up to get a picture-- it's big.

   I am really liking this thing again, after the too blendy holly border. The black and white houses have really compensated for it. Hope it inspires you to continue on with something you have reservations about and has ended up in a drawer. Leave it and just make better decisions going forward. The color isn't great in this photo-- and there's still time for another snowstorm this year to get a better picture!

   I had a slight case of  "measure once, cuss twice" and need to fix this roof. As the wife of an architect, I'm really ashamed of myself and I'm hiding this from Mr. SFO, AIA.

    Also, my black flower houses are a fail-- I decided to take the time to redo them. It's who I am.

    I have become a fan of "The Repair Shop" on the Discovery Channel, and watching people patiently restore other people's treasures-- (a sweet dish, broken into a million pieces was my favorite), has really inspired me to take my time and work patiently along. Check this show out if you want to watch something peaceful and wholesome and restoring of your faith in the world.

   I do have this black print left from the Tole Christmas fabric collection which I thought was too plain for the houses at around the same time the flower house idea seemed like a good one.

   Once this project is done, I'm going to cut all the remaining fabric into charm squares. I forget where I read this, but I love charm packs, and this is the perfect scrap solution for me-- every other size has proved too small for me to save. Then I'm going to use this box for my Ribbon Runs Through It project. It's one of those beautiful Michael's boxes which are now way too expensive and more cheaply made-- this one is about ten years old-- I love it.

   So the other project that went sideways this month was my morning stitch-- the Baltimore Album quilt. I just can't get it rolling! I'm mad at myself-- a whole month of morning stitch time was wasted. I did complete sixteen Christmas Eve themed, 400 piece puzzles on my iPad, instead!

   I pulled this out again-- maybe it was a mistake to ever put it away when I had such a nice rhythm going. If stitching a black cat in January is wrong, I don't want to be right!

I'm almost down to the bottom corner which is super gratifying. But there's still lots to do. Witch Girl takes up just as big of an area as Apple Lady in the center, and she took forever. Still not totally forgetting the Baltimore Album, but let's see what happens in February-- a new month!

Finally, since enough of you were interested in my AeroGarden to make me think this should be a gardening blog-- here it is:

It did not suffer with the power out, and every one of my nine herbs is up! I have since staked my dill (in the center, there) with a toothpick and some cross stitch thread. Keeping your garden tidy at this scale is even more important than a big garden... or so I read on the AeroGarden website. I'm going to start looking out recipes that need fresh dill.

   So that's my little world-- please comment or write to me about your own projects and happenings and I do promise I will give them the attention, overthinking, and sideways advice that they deserve, in the same way that you all graciously consider mine each week.

xox 

Carol